Once known as rulers of the galaxy, the Sith Empire descended into chaos after millennia of infighting and self-destructive behavior. Reduced to a fraction of their former might, the Sith imposed the Rule of Two, which allowed for only two Sith Lords at any time – a Master and an apprentice...

Serving under Darth Sidious, Darth Maul was tasked with destroying Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi as well as abducting the meddlesome Queen Amidala. A formidable opponent with considerable abilities, Darth Maul's attacks were fierce and devastating thanks to his dual-blade lightsaber and years of exposure to the dark side of the Force.

Many collectors don’t know what to make out of the Ultimate Quarter Scale line of figures by Diamond Select Toys. They were created not to serve as an alternative to Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format line, but to be the largest action figures this side of the galaxy instead. Premium Format Figures are glorified statues. This isn’t a cut down because they are one of our most favorite high-end collectibles out there, but they are for a niche audience who are content with the static poses they offer your collection. Ultimate Quarter Scale figures are essentially extra large action figures with super-articulation with all the benefits of soft-goods clothing and plenty of accessories. When the line was announced, we think people saw this as the poor man’s alternative to the Premium Format Figures line. But the UQS line really shouldn’t be interpreted this way. Not only does the UQS line have a uniform look (all figures are pretty much the same proportions except with a new character-specific head and accessories), there are limits to how well some of the likenesses turn out. Thankfully, the Darth Maul figure, DST’s first in the UQS, is pretty remarkable and should really ignite the fire for this line. (Editor’s Note: Unfortunately the UQS line did not garner enough support and had been cancelled. Many potentially awesome figures like Darth Vader, Royal Guard, Boba Fett and Clone Trooper will never see the light of day.)

The Ultimate Quarter Scale body type is very heavy and due to the battery compartment can be top heavy at times as well. Reports abound that the figures have joints that are too tight, while others report results on the other end of the spectrum that they are way too loose and prevent the figure from standing up properly. Still, Darth Maul comes very well-articulated with an astounding 23 points of movement. This isn’t too shabby for a figure of this stature. And all that articulated for under $100 is quite an impressive feat for a toy company to make for a brand-new line. Darth Maul is at times a little to lanky in appearance thanks to his thinner body frame and long limbs. Interestingly however, you can find ways of posing Darth Maul where his lankiness seems to disappear and his silhouette is smooth and natural. Darth Maul has a fantastic head sculpt. Grit, determination and pure evilness is written all over his face and while the paint job is slightly muddy in spots, Diamond Select Toys has done a fair job at matching the red color and the shape and design of the tattoos. Darth Maul’s soft-goods clothing is also well-tailored without any bulkiness and is very authentic to the costume in the film. Our sample can hold most poses very well and the hands have been extremely well designed to hold the accessories. The Sith robe is beautifully done and really ties this figure all together. But this is a huge figure that will take up a lot of space in your collection.

The packaging boasts more accessories than what we feel as many, but there are enough here to keep you satiated. His macrobinoculars are very well designed and colored beautifully and his extra long lightsaber has an accurate hilt and perfect blade thickness. Darth Maul also comes with an alternate left hand with wrist-link so he can call upon his Sith Probe Droids (which aren’t included with this figure) as his will. The figure really is remarkable and if it weren’t for the annoying electronics, we would say that this is the perfect collectible for those of you out there that prefer large-scaled versions of your favorite Star Wars characters. Darth Maul’s packaging is another victim to the awful, awful white and blue “The Legacy Collection” line look that was dictated by Lucasfilm, Ltd. (That has to be the worst line look of all time, no?) The box is very large and tall and Darth Maul looks pretty good sitting in it. The best part however is on the side panels of the box. Original artwork by favorite artist Dave Dorman was incorporated into the packaging. It’s a shame that most of the box couldn’t have included some of sandy background of his painting. The Ultimate Quarter Scale line will likely be overlooked by many collectors due to their sheer size. They are decent, not perfect, and if Diamond Select Toys finds ways to tweak some of the problems with the current format, this would be a really great line. But that remains to be seen.

Collector Notes

Darth Maul

Status: This nineteen-inch Ultimate Quarter Scale release features the Sith apprentice as he appears in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and includes a magnetic dual-blade lightsaber, electronic binoculars, removable wrist-link hand, fully-layered cloth costume and display stand as well as electronic sounds and phrases from The Phantom Menace!